A Future Not Our Own

I've been chipping away at the over-abundance of emails in my inbox; and one gem I discovered while doing so is this poem, which I originally heard in April 2008 in a sermon preached by the then-pastor of Weavers Mennonite Church, Jeff Kauffman.  I don't know much about Oscar Romero; but to his thoughts expressed in this piece, I say "yes" and "amen."

A Future Not Our Own

by Oscar Romero

It helps, now and then, to step back

and take the long view.

The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,

it is beyond our vision.

We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of

the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.

Nothing we do is complete,

which is another way of saying

that the kingdom always lies beyond us.

No statement says all that could be said.

No prayer fully expresses our faith.

No confession brings perfection.

No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:

We plant seeds that one day will grow.

We water seeds already planted,

knowing that they hold future promise.

We lay foundations that will need further development.

We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything

and there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.

This enables us to do something,

and to do it very well.

It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way,

an opportunity for God's grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results...

We are prophets of a future not our own.

~ this picture of daffodil shoots in our flowerbed seems fitting to include in this post ~

Playing Second Fiddle

I've been blessed with many wonderfully fulfilling musical experiences in my 34 years of life, but none of them--not a single one--compares with the joy and satisfaction that come from accompanying my son as he plays violin. My son!  Playing violin!  Oh, the wonder of it all!  

For this little man (who got to perform in a Suzuki graduation event yesterday because he's finishing Book One this semester), I'll gladly play second fiddle any day.  Errrr...play the piano, that is...he wouldn't want me to really play second fiddle for him...I'd be much too scratchy, and my bowing would stink...yep, I'd better stick to the piano.  ;-)

Imagine My Town Doing This

One of the wonderful books that our Sonlight curriculum introduced us to this year is Window on the World by Daphne Spraggett with Jill Johnstone.  Every day, we read about a different nation or people group and pray for their spiritual needs; and in the process, we're learning bits about social studies, geography, world religions, cultural differences, etc...plus, it's giving us a heart to pray for people around the globe as our eyes are opened to the vast needs in other parts of the world.  It's so easy and natural to navel-gaze, so things that lift our eyes and turn our attention from our own little corner are worthwhile indeed!

Some of the tribes we've read about and prayed for do not yet have the entire Bible in their own language, and so we pray for the translation process.  Because of this, it was with special delight that I watched this video and then shared it with my sons.  Although this particular tribe is not one for whom we have specifically prayed, it was easy to imagine the tribes for whom we have prayed showing equally joyful responses when the Bible in their own language is, at long last, placed in their hands.  May that day come quickly!

I'm especially touched by the older man who compared himself to Simeon; and as Simeon was promised to hold the Messiah before he died, so this man was promised to hold the Bible before his death.  What a gift--and he was so aware of how precious it was!  It moves my heart.

I try to imagine my town doing this:  everyone gathering together, singing songs, dancing, celebrating, waiting with outstretched arms.  Just to hold a Bible.

Just to hold a Bible.

How much we take for granted!  How much we could learn from the Kimyal people!

Recipe Box - Garden Pasta Salad

When I flip through my notebook of recipes and see this one, I think, "Ah, summertime!"  But then, if I do this in the winter, I follow that thought with, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a taste of summer, even if it's below freezing outside?"  I answer myself, "Yes!" and then I make this salad.  :)

1 (1 lb.) package rotini (although other shapes work fine, too...also, sometimes I use the tri-color kind)

1 c. dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped (I always make it with fresh tomatoes, but I'm sure it would be delicious with dried ones)

2 c. sliced cucumber, cut into quarters (about 1 large)

1/2 c. chopped purple onion

1 (2.25 oz.) can sliced ripe olives, drained

1 (8 oz.) bottle ranch dressing

1/4 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

Cook rotini according to package directions; drain.  Set aside

If using dried tomatoes, combine tomatoes and boiling water (enough to cover the tomatoes).  Cover dish and let stand 10 minutes.  Drain well.  (I, of course, skip this step by using fresh tomatoes.)

Combine rotini, tomatoes, cucumber, onion, and olives.  Stir in salad dressing, Parmesan cheese, and pepper.  Cover and chill 2 hours.

Yield: 6-8 servings

This recipe originally came from Southern Living.  It's one of those oldies that I first started making when I was a young newly-married wife, but every so often I still pull it out and make it.  I personally like the twist that the Ranch dressing brings to this pasta salad, rather than the oil/vinegar/Italian thing that most pasta salads use.  Nothing against oil/vinegar/Italian, of course, but I'd rather have that on a sub.  :)

A Mother Can't Relax Until...

...all her children are tucked in bed for the night.  And not only tucked in bed, but also asleep!  Or at least, old enough and mature enough to not keep popping out of bed for another drink of water or trip to the bathroom.

Until all four of my sons are out for the night, I am still on:  on-duty, that is.  Most nights, I'm OK with that; but some nights, it's more of a challenge; and when I feel like all my energy and patience are gone, I have to remind myself that God will give me a little more, enough to see me through every encounter with my children, so that they can go peacefully to sleep with happy thoughts of their mother's tenderness, rather than sad thoughts of their mother's frustration.

Nights when we're out in the evening are sometimes the hardest of all.  For a woman who's an introvert by nature and who has had plenty(!) of people time already that day and who knows that her children are wound up by being over at a friends' house for a Bible study but who can hardly wait until the house is quiet and she can sit down and be still and just think, that half hour or so from arrival at home until all the children are quiet in bed can be excruciating.  "Josiah, it's not time to be reading a Redwall book on the couch; you need to get ready for bed."  "David, what are you doing in Tobin's room?  I asked you to do three things:  teeth, bathroom, pajamas.  Until you do those, don't even think about doing anything else."  "Tobin, I understand that you're tired [I add in my head but don't say it aloud, "and on the verge of a huge temper tantrum"], but we can't read the whole Curious George book tonight."  "Shav, are you thirsty?  Has anyone seen Shav's sippy cup?  Is it still in the minivan?"  And so it goes.

If only I had as much energy as they do...  ;-)

The Gardener, Season Two

Last year, Jeff astonished us all by his decision to take on the garden...and by his subsequent success.  The garden, under his steady, energetic, youthful :), careful hands, did better than it had during any of the years that I was helping with it.  ;-)

Now that March is here and has come in like a lamb, Jeff is back at it, ready for another season of hours in the garden, late suppers, sore backs, and delicious, healthy produce that is the envy of any chef anywhere.  I am keenly aware today of how blessed I am to have a husband that does this!  And that wants to do this!

The first order of business was clearing last fall's debris from the garden. Fortunately, Jeff is surrounded by little helpers who are enjoying the spring-like weather and getting Vitamin D from the beautiful sunshine while learning about tending a garden and spending time with their beloved daddy.  Win-win-win-win!

Some people fill their time with watching TV.  And then there are country folks, who'd rather spend their leisure hours drinking iced tea and watching their garden grow. 

Or, in my case, watching The Gardener {and his sons} work.  ;-)

I Shall Be Random, Vol. 2

~ 1 ~

A new month = a new header and blog design = happiness!

~ 2 ~

The robins have returned which is also cause for great joy for two reasons:  they're my favorite bird, and they're a sign of spring coming.  Even though I delighted in the abundance of snow that we were given last winter, I haven't been complaining about the mildness of this past month.  For example, yesterday, the last day of February, the temperature reached 70 degrees and we had a thunderstorm.  Bizarre!

~ 3 ~

The problem with cleaning is that it reveals more dirt.  I can go for days (weeks! months! years!) not thinking about the fact that the fan blades hanging in the middle of our living room are loaded with dust; but when I start cleaning, I notice it, and I feel like sending a note of apology to everyone who's been in our home recently.  "Dear friends, I'm so sorry I didn't do a better job of cleaning before you came.  I had no idea the dust above your heads was an inch thick."  Or under the kitchen table - whew, it's scary to look under there.  Out of sight, out of mind for me; but when I pull out the vacuum and get to work and peek under the tablecloth, I realize there is a shocking amount of debris that's accumulated, dropped by the eight little hands that regularly circle around our table.  Ignorance is bliss.  It's not until I start to clean that I realize how dreadfully dirty I've let things become!  :)

~ 4 ~

Did you ever consider yourself a moderate about something; but then one day, you wake up and--poof!--you realize, "I am so NOT a moderate"?  That happened to me recently.  It suddenly dawned on me that I'm so far to one side on this issue (which will remain unnamed to avoid drawing boundaries and stirring up hard feelings where I don't want them) that it's not even funny.  Just call me a radical.

~ 5 ~

For quite a long time, Rebekah of bekahcubed fame has been reading my blog--and I, hers.  I can't remember how we got connected in the first place; but however it was, I'm grateful for it!  She is an excellent writer and manages to do things I only dream about (for example, she is, get this, reading through all the books in her library--not the room in her house where she keeps her books, but the public library!).  She recently gave me a blog award:  rather, a synthesis of two awards, I guess.  Stylish and Versatile, so she says.  I don't know about that, but I do know that I appreciate her and her blog friendship!  ;-)

~ 6 ~

Speaking of blogging...and of friendship...Christie from Satisfaction Through Christ is another wonderful lady that I've gotten to know solely through her blog.  Although she only lives a state away, we've never met; but I've felt a bond with her through our mutual faith (and the fact that her husband is a pastor helps me to relate even more to her life).  She and her husband had been led to pursue adoption; but as anyone knows who has had any experience with adoption, it is often (always?) a long, sometimes difficult, faith-testing road.  Recently God blessed them with a beautiful baby girl; and as Christie has been telling the story of Moriah's adoption, I've been inspired by how God put all the pieces of it together to help them connect with the daughter God wanted them to have.  God is sovereign, and He is so, so good!

~ 7 ~

When we found out that we were going to have two children only 18 months apart, people said...

..."They'll be such good buddies as they grow up!"

I guess in this case, the people were right.

They are good buddies; but when Shav spots his mommy...

...he forgets his buddy and scoots to her!  ;-)

~ 8 ~

On the living room wall above our couch hangs a magnificent painting done by Jeff's dad:  Daniel in the den of lions (you can see it in this post).  David likes to test his balance by walking along the top of that couch; and when he does, he sometimes brushes against that painting, which really doesn't hurt it so I've never told him to stop doing that.  But one day, when my dad was in the living room finishing up math with Josiah, he noticed that David bumped the painting and that it was swinging a little precariously from its nail.  He cautioned David by saying, "You're going to upset Daniel."  David, not understanding Dad's use of the word "upset" to mean "knock down or topple over," looked up at Daniel's face in the painting and quipped, "He doesn't look upset!"

Well, no, I suppose he doesn't.  ;-)